He Left Silicon Valley to Understand America

What happens when you leave everything familiar behind to understand people who see the world differently? In this episode of Social Media Sobriety, I sit down with Wesley Warshawer, a former Silicon Valley professional who set out to better understand the country he realized he knew less about than he thought. After recognizing how disconnected his life in Silicon Valley was from much of America, Wesley decided to do something about it. During the pandemic, he left his apartment, packed up his car, and began traveling through rural and conservative communities across the United States. He spent more than 18 months meeting people, hearing their stories, and learning about their beliefs, values, and hopes for the future. His journey eventually took him across Latin America, Africa, and Europe, too. Wesley's experience challenged his assumptions and left him with a surprising takeaway: we may have more in common than we think. We talk about how social media and the environments we surround ourselves with can shape our perception of other people, why real conversations can teach us things that headlines and online debates can't, and what happens when we're willing to step outside our own bubbles. Because there's a difference between seeing how other people live online and actually getting to know them. Maybe understanding each other starts with less scrolling, more listening, and a willingness to step into the unfamiliar. Follow Social Media Sobriety! Youtube:    / @socialmediasobrietypodcast   Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3uGRwRA... Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/dk/podcast... Amazon: https://a.co/d/0f74TdcW LinkedIn:   / tyler-bermundo-6b3690226